i'd get the kawai. closest thing to a real action you'll get. build quality and track record is there. it's the honda of pianos.
Wow, some tough contenders there. It's between the RD 800, the MP11 and the VCP1 for sure. But much depends on your own idea of what your dream action should be. The RD should be the lightest of these listed if it follows suit to it's predecessor, the RD 700.But both the Kawai MP11 and the V have full length grand piano keys with wooden cores. Balance should be like a real grand. If you don't want any accompaniment sounds ( strings etc) go with the V and VST software. Gotta say Pianoteq for me gets pretty close in recordings with my older MP6. The MP11, the V and the RD all require an external sound system. The MP7 as well.Long story short.
I'd like to eventually prepare for amateur piano competitions. So I'm very much leaning toward the MP11 or the VPC1. I don't mind getting monitors for the sound (only because I want my baby to listen to live piano, if not, I'm perfectly content using my Sennheiser HD 598 open-back headphones). Btw, I do have a pair of nice bookshelf speakers (Emp Tek) that I could use with the stage piano to save money for now. I'll do my primary practice/playing through headphones.Of those, I'm drawn to the MP11 since I won't need to tinker around with a computer to get sound out of it, but the downside of course is the weight which might be ok since I might only look to perform a couple of times a year. Is the Casio PX-5S any good? I'm not exactly rolling in cash, so if that's a decent piano (for my needs), I could certainly do with expending less money.
Sorry it's me again ! Worth noting, the VPC1 has RM3 action. The MP11 has GF action ( grand feel). The difference basically ? The GF is 1" longer than the RM 3, giving it a different balance point and thus smoother and full length of the RX Kawai acoustic grand pianos.
Thanks for your detailed replies. That really helps. Given that I want to prepare for amateur piano competitions, I feel like going with the MP11 might be the best choice for me. However, I do want to try these out before I make the purchase. I'm still a poor student. The cash I have comes from the sale of my beloved acoustic upright. So I want to spend my cash wisely.Other than classical piano, I do write my own songs (pop/rock genres). I also want to create backing tracks for my wife to sing. This is why the MP7/RD800 look attractive to me over the MP11. However, I'm assuming that the 40 voices that the MP11 does come with will suffice for most of my needs.
The new ones weren't out yet. The MP6 just came up on a super deal from Musicians Friend, I couldn't pass it up and that's why I own it over the others. No other reason. All three had good action. It was a $2000 piano, that sold regularly for $1800 and change and I got it for $1200 because it was on a Holiday sale and they offered a coupon for $200 off as well. I entered the codes, the sale info and it all went through. About 4 days later it was in my living room.
be careful with new found money floating around the household, it's really easy to burn it up !